Bruins' Nick Johnson clears waivers, joins AHL team

Tuesday

Oct 1, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Forward Nick Johnson cleared waivers on Monday and reported to the Boston Bruins' AHL farm team in Providence. Johnson, Boston's leading preseason scorer with four goals, was the team's last roster cut on Sunday, but had to clear waivers before joining the P-Bruins.

The move means that forwards Jordan Caron and Reilly Smith and defenseman Kevan Miller will be on the 23-man roster when the Bruins open their regular season Thursday night against Tampa Bay at TD Garden. Smith clearly had made the team as the third-line right wing with Carl Soderberg on the left side, but the decision on the 13th forward came down to Johnson or Caron, who almost certainly would have been claimed on waivers if he was sent down. Besides the 13 forwards, the roster includes eight defensemen and two goalies, with Chad Johnson earning the backup job to Tuukka Rask. If David Krejci (back spasms) and Soderberg (lower body injury) are unable to play Thursday, the Bruins will need Caron and a player from Providence, possibly center Ryan Spooner.

The San Jose Sharks assigned forwards Bracken Kearns and John McCarthy, defensemen Taylor Doherty and Matt Tennyson, and goalie Harri Sateri to Worcester of the AHL, and assigned forward Matt Pelech to San Francisco of the ECHL. San Jose also released Anthony Stewart from his tryout agreement.

Hybrid icing will be in effect for the start of the NHL regular season after it was approved by the players. The NHLPA gave the go-ahead for the rule change that makes icing a race to an imaginary line across the faceoff dots instead of to the puck, which was given a trial run during the preseason. The goal is to prevent serious injuries, such as the one that sidelined Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Joni Pitkanen for the entire season.

BASEBALL

Cubs GM Epstein fires Sveum as manager

Theo Epstein is proud of the talent in the Chicago Cubs' minor league system. The president of baseball operations thinks Dale Sveum is going to be a successful manager one day. He just doesn't think Sveum is the right guy to help all those prospects become successful major leaguers. The Cubs fired Sveum on Monday after finishing last in the NL Central for the first time in seven years, ending a two-year run that produced more losses than any other stretch in the team's cursed history.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

UConn fires coaches Pasqualoni, DeLeone

University of Connecticut athletic director Warde Manuel said he's looking for football coach who can bring more excitement, passion, and, above all, wins to UConn. Manuel fired coach Paul Pasqualoni on Monday, with his team 0-4 and coming off a 41-12 loss at Buffalo. Pasqualoni, in his third season at UConn, finishes with a 10-18 record. Associate head coach George DeLeone, who coached the offensive line, also was let go.

PRO FOOTBALL

Bucs' Goldson won't be suspended for hit

Dashon Goldson will not be suspended for his hit on Arizona Cardinals receiver Jaron Brown in Sunday's game, but the Tampa Bay safety could be fined. Merton Hanks, the NFL's vice president of football operations, said the play is being re-examined for a helmet-to-helmet hit, but it will not warrant a suspension. Any fine figures to be hefty after Goldson was docked $100,000 for a hit on Saints running back Darren Sproles earlier this season.

Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar pleaded not guilty to drunken-driving charges. A Dec. 9 pretrial hearing has been scheduled. Police said Kosar was pulled over for speeding early Sunday in Solon, in suburban Cleveland. They say officers smelled a strong odor of alcohol. The police statement said Kosar, 49, took sobriety tests and was taken to jail.